Damien Hirst

Last night, at the Neue Galerie's 6th annual Winter Gala, Zac Posen talked to us about art. While a number of art-world folks are abuzz over the current, exploding art market, the 27-year old fashion phenom said he's not impressed with the way things are going.

"Nothing new has happened really since Andy Warhol," he told The Daily Transom, adding that Damien Hirst, the British creator of the infamous $100 million dollar diamond-encrusted skull, "is really a modern-day replica of Andy Warhol, you know, the whole idea of repetition."

"I'm not into chic safety or chic banality, just in creating art," added the designer, clad in his signature scarf, black boots and a stand-out plaid suit that was, of course, extremely well-tailored. "I feel on my artistic side I've been able to take more risks than anybody in the U.S."  read more »

Mark Wallinger has been named the winner of the Turner Prize for his replica of Brian Haw's 2001 anti-war protest in Parliament Square, State Britain. Dennis Hopper presented him the £25,000 award at a ceremony at the Tate Liverpool gallery last night. Mr. Wallinger first made the shortlist in 1995, but lost out to Damien Hirst.  read more »

Branding is threatening not only journalism, as Doree Shafrir wrote in this week's Observer, but also art. ARTnews examines Damien Hirst's omni-presence in all aspects of the art world. "Clearly, Hirst has become more than a famous artist—he has become a global brand."

While most of his money comes from the sale of artwork, he continues to find new ways to turn his artistic reputation and notoriety into successful sidelines. He has a company, Other Criteria, that licenses his imagery, creates products, and sells them on the Web. In addition to Hirst’s own prints, editions, books, posters, and T-shirts, the company markets the wares of other artists. And this is just one piece of an umbrella corporation, Science Ltd., that oversees Hirst’s vast studios, 120 employees, and other business interests.

 

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Cue that foreboding Jaws soundtrack! Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, otherwise known as the huge Tiger shark suspended in 4,360 gallons of formaldehyde, has arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and will be on display starting today.

The MET will also debut “Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples” today and “Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor,” opening Oct. 17.

According to the press release, Hirst’s “seminal, 22-ton work – which was created in 1991 and was displayed as part of the collection of its previous owner, Charles Saatchi, in the 1997-2000 London/Berlin/New York exhibition Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection – has been recently refurbished by the artist, who replaced the original tiger shark with the current one” after it began to rot.

The work will be displayed in the wing's second-floor Lila Acheson Wallace Gallery, which overlooks Central Park.

Read more for information on other displays at the MET this week.  read more »

Adjectives like “ravishing” and “sumptuous” don’t readily come to mind  read more »

The high-end auction-house business is considered among the more genteel of professions.  read more »

The high-end auction-house business is considered among the more genteel of professions.  read more »

The high-end auction-house business is considered among the more genteel of professions.  read more »

The high-end auction-house business is considered among the more genteel of professions.  read more »

We heard this might be coming (via Gawker): the Sunday Styles section dubs Philadelphia the sixth borough. Williamsburg expats in shrunken ironic T-shirts are apparently swanning past that cracked, bronze bell and marvelling at Rocky's workout steps as they get acquainte with New Jersey transit. Bets taken here on how soon before "Brooklynization" makes it into the O.E.D.

Top real-estate developer Aby Rosen will overcome you with both his "arresting blue eyes" and off-putting Damien Hirst sculptures. And the guy does own Lever House and the Seagram Building which is pretty intimidating, too.

A bizarre replica of the East Village is being built in Las Vegas because casino developer Mark Advent believes the desert city lacks a "sense of community." Nothing says community like bridge-and-tunnel bars and overpriced, rat-infested studios! Felafel, anyone?

Lastly, the Upper East Side has become a haven for cheapskates.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

Is the West Village becoming … prudish?  read more »

The British sculptor Marc Quinn, whose work is on view at the Mary Boone Gallery, is an artist with  read more »

For almost as long as I can remember, I've heard disgruntled people in the art world say of a work o  read more »

Jessica Craig-Martin may live the life of your averagefashion photographer, shooting grinning celebs  read more »

In London during Easter week, I went to a restaurant called Pharmacy.  read more »

"I didn't intend to write a book that would upset Lucian Freud," said Matthew Collings, author of Bl  read more »